Hello,
I am a sophmore in highschool
and I had a few questions regarding
feminism. First off I was asked
to be on a radio show with a
lady who is taking the couse:
Women Studies. I don't exactly
know what feminism is, but looking
it up in the dictionary gave
me a good idea. However, this
lady has mailed me questions
that will be brought up and
talked about during this show.
Maybe you could help me out,
even though I am new to feminism.
The following questions are
to be answered by my own thoughts
and of course, there is no wrong
answer, but I would enjoy it
if you could give me your ideas/opinions
on the following. I belive that
once learning about this will
interest me into taking a stand
to being a feminist.

Thanks
for your note to Feminist.com--and
for being new to feminism--being
new is better than not being
here at all. I have attempted
to answer your proposed questions
to the best of my ability, but
you really need to answer these
for yourself for the show. I
hope my response can be used
as a guidepost:

-How do you define your personal
feminism?
By dictionary definition, feminism
is the movement toward the full
social, political, equality
of all people. I always add
on to this--having enough information
to make responsible choices
about our lives.

Have
your ideas changed over time?
Yes, certainly. I used to be
much more superficial about
my feminism--for instance, that
it was only about who opened
the door, etc...Now, I understand
that feminism is much more radical
than I ever expected. It's not
so much about changing individual
attitudes and circumstances--as
much as it is about changing
society.

-Is your personal feminism
different from what you consider
to be "mainstream" feminism?
No--as explained above.

-Do
you see some feminist issues
as harmful?
No, though I do see some feminists
as harmful to other women. For
instance, some feminists think
that feminism comes with a set
of rules. But this isn't the
fault of feminists--it's the
fault of the individuals.

--Is
there a downside to being a
feminist?
Just having to deal with other
people's misconceptions and
with all of the baggage that
comes with feminism. It's also
hard to deal with the sad aspects
of feminism--for instance, that
feminists are the only ones
who deal with domestic violence,
rape, race relations.

-Is
there anyone right now that
inspires you, or prods you to
action?
Yes, the many people who write
to me at Ask
Amy, the young women I meet
at Third
Wave Foundation, my friends
who are pursuing their own careers,
lives.

-Do
you know any names of the famous
feminists of the 1970's?
Gloria Steinem, Dorothy Pitman
Hughes, Angela Davis, Arlie
Hochschild, Patsy Mink.